It hurts so good

I should have blogged sooner about last weekend’s Bike MS Ride, but even my fingertips were sore.

I posted a few months ago about the crazy notion that my husband Mike and I — casual weekend cyclists whose previous recent record was a mere 24 miles — could attempt to cycle 100+ miles in two days to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. And while we didn’t make our 100+ goal, we did ride 75 miles (59 of them on Saturday).

We were honored to be part of the 18-member Team Navy, a great group of really serious cyclists from Whidbey Naval Air Station, many of whom completed the full 160-mile weekend ride with iron resolve. Let’s just say that the part of my anatomy in closest contact with my bike wasn’t nearly so iron. Bless Mike’s heart, he lagged behind the rest of the team to keep me company (referring to himself as my “rear admiral”). By the time we finished Saturday’s 59-mile ride through beautiful sunny Skagit Valley and up to spectacular Deception Pass, I couldn’t imagine being able to hoist my derriere onto that bicycle seat again the next morning. But we did. And although we could only manage 16 miles on Sunday, it made for a nice round final total of 75.

This event is a great example of what I’ve been blogging about so frequently over the past months. Yes, times are tough financially for a lot of us. We may not have as much cash to donate to good causes as we have in past years. But we can all walk or ride or row or at least support in smaller ways those who can. For the nearly 2,000 Bike MS riders, it was a way to raise perhaps a little from a lot of people while having a great time in the bargain.

So, even if you can only contribute a few bucks, consider saying yes to the next person who asks you to sponsor them in an event like this (and there are lots of them!). All our Bike MS supporters meant the world to us… including my hair stylist Laura who insisted that I donate her tip to Bike MS and my schoolteacher friend Darlene in Texas who gave more than I knew she could spare.